Last Updated on July 16, 2024 8:45 am
LINVILLE, N.C. – Nik Aston placed in the top four in all seven men’s heavy athletic events during the 2024 Grandfather Mountain Highland Games, earning him the top spot overall for the competition. This year marked Aston’s sixth competing at these games and his second as a professional.
The 29-year-old from Los Lunas, N.M, is a personal trainer and strength-and-conditioning specialist. During his time as a graduate student at Appalachian State University, he approached someone at his gym with a Grandfather Mountain Highland Games shirt and asked how to get involved. This year, in his second competition as a pro, he notched first-place honors.
“There’s really no other venue like this in the country where so many events are happening at once,” Aston said on why these games are special to him. “The crowd is awesome and super engaged the entire time, and it makes me love the Highland Games.”
Aston secured first place in the clachneart (throwing a stone for distance) and 22-pound hammer (spherical weight fastened to a wooden handle) throw, while tying for first in the caber (large pole) toss and 56-pound-weight toss for height. He also placed third in the sheaf toss, during which competitors use a pitchfork to hurl a burlap bag stuffed with straw over a horizontal bar.
Jonathan Harding, the 2022 overall winner, placed second overall, including first place in the lightweight (28 pounds) and heavyweight (56 pounds) throws for distance. He also placed second in the clachneart and the hammer throw.
2023 overall winner Garrett Blatnik finished third overall, with a top score in the sheaf toss and first-place ties in the caber toss and 56-pound-weight toss for height, while Adam Sizemore, who recorded third place in 2023, secured fourth place this year.
The men’s professional competition is by invitation only and featured nine competitors vying to best each other in seven different categories: the sheaf toss, 56-pound-weight toss for height, caber toss, clachneart, heavyweight (56 pounds) throw for distance, lightweight (28 pounds) throw for distance and hammer throw.
The 2024 Grandfather Mountain Highland Games took place July 11-14 at Grandfather Mountain’s MacRae Meadows in Linville, N.C. To learn more about the Highland Games, visit www.gmhg.org.
The nonprofit Grandfather Mountain Stewardship Foundation strives to inspire conservation of the natural world through education, exploration and example. For more information, visit www.grandfather.com.
Nik Aston Caber Toss 2024_Photo by Skip Sickler_Courtesy of Grandfather Mountain Stewardship Foundation: Nik Aston tosses the caber during the 2024 Grandfather Mountain Highland Games. He placed in the top four in all seven men’s heavy athletic events during the 2024 Grandfather Mountain Highland Games, earning him the top spot overall for the competition. This year marked Aston’s sixth competing at these games and his second as a professional. (Photo Courtesy of Grandfather Mountain Stewardship Foundation / Skip Sickler)
